Taking the Long Way Home
by Tikaani Spirit
Summary: The first of three stories. Dallas Winston has everything going for him at 16, until his parents send him an akward surprise.....his 13 year old sister Cade. Can Dallas handle this new responsibility while keeping his rep?
1. Normal Everyday Life

_(sorry my chapters are kinda short. Anyways, this is a fanfic story that takes place a year before the story and goes up until 6 months until the story. This is the first of three stories. Enjoy! Don't care if you review and/or comment. Not into that.)_

"Get back here you useless juvenile delinquent!" the store manager yelled as a brown-headed kid raced by, "Sucker." He sneered under his breath as he cut through side streets and back-alleys of Tulsa until he reached the movie house where he ran into a dark-headed kid, I mean literally ran into, the kid,

**CRASH!**

"Gosh Dallas. Ain't you got somethin' better to do than break laws?" the kid asked, rubbing his head,

"What makes you think I'm breakin the law, Pony?" Dallas laughed and stood up, brushing the dirt off his leather jacket. Pony stared and Dallas dropped his arms,

"Two packs of cigarettes."

"You know Dallas, someday you're gonna have to calm down some, you'll have someone to look out for that you can't afford to lose…"

"Look here kid! You ain't got nothing to worry about, I ain't gonna get jailed and I will never have someone else depend on me." He snapped at Ponyboy. What difference did a 13-year old's opinion matter to Dallas Winston?

Nothing.

After Ponyboy went to go catch up with Johnny, Dallas walked around the town, getting bored of just wandering so he decided to go to the DX station for a while.

"Hey there greaser! Wash all that grease outta your hair!" someone shouted. Dallas just lit a cigarette and flipped his collar up, walking off.,

"Stupid Socs.."

He reached the DX station right as Soda hit his head on an overhead car,

"SON OF A…"

"STOP RIGHT THERE SODA!" Steve said, as Soda stuck his head out, rubbing it, "Hey Dal. What's up?" he said, dropping a wrench and grabbing some other tool,

"Hey man, not much. I'm gonna hang here a bit in case the cops are after me."

"Oh no, Dal, what'd you do this time?"

"Two packs of cigarettes and had my faithful unloaded gun here."

"You mean to tell me that you held a gun to a guy's head just for cigarettes?" Steve said, not believing his own words. "Dallas you idiot, you don't need to be in the cooler AGAIN!" Soda noted, wiping his oily hands with a rag,

"Relax, I'll be fine. Gonna hang out at Buck's tonight. Should be interesting.:"

Dallas left the DX around 7ish, walking around, kicking some random kid's bike, smoking over in the park. And headed over to Buck's place, ready to crash for the night, "Naw, man what a day." He muttered to himself, then suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned around to see Tim Shepard, "Hey there Dallas, you hear that my tires got slashed?" he growled.

Dallas could barley hide his laughter, "Sorry to hear that Tim."

"Well, here's the kicker of it, Curly says he remembers you slashing the tires. Now, Curly's not that smart, but he may be right." Tim snarled, Dallas turned around and started to walk,

"Not now Tim, I'm gonna settle this one later."

"Oh, all right Dallas…we can settle this later…" a wicked smile crossed his face, "Or we could settle it right here!" he said, rushing at Dallas, punching Dallas in the eye as he turned around,

"Knew this was gonna happen." Dally muttered, kicking Tim in the shins, bringing the hood to his knees while Tim knocked Dally in the ribs. He heard a strange cracking noise and he fell over,

"Ow man. What happened to no rough-housing?" Dallas laughed, kicking Tim again before walking off, "We'll settle this later Tim." He growled under his breath, wiping some blood off his face as he walked off.

"BUCK! I need a room." Dallas shouted as soon as he entered the house. The scent of beer and smoke entered Dallas's lungs as he walked over to Buck, who was obviously drunk, "Buck. room."

"Doyouwannaroomolbuddy?" Buck slurred, holding up the beer bottle,

"Why yes, Buck. How did you guess?" he said through gritted teeth.

"Wellthengettheoneupstairsandtotheright."

Dallas sighed and walked upstairs, turning to the right and apparently interrupting something going on in the room,

"BUCK!!! YOU !$!#!!!!"

"Sorrytherepal,theonetotheleft."

Dallas kicked the door open and slammed it shut, collapsing on the bed, his side killing him, and he fell asleep before he could think of anything else.


	2. WhaWhat?

A knock on the door awoke Dallas from his sleep, "What the hell?" he muttered, grabbing his shirt off the floor and walking to the door to see a strongly hung-over Buck standing outside, "Dude…what happened?" Buck said sleepily, "And what are you doing here?"

Dallas narrowed his eyes and rubbed his side, pushing Buck aside as easily as a five foot stuffed husky and walked to the bathroom. He rubbed his eyes where it had turned purple, "Tim…" he growled, whipping a towel off the rack and furiously rubbing his eye.

"Hey Dallas!:

"What do you want NOW?" Dallas barked, slamming the towel and storming downstairs to where Buck was calling him,

"So people are here to see you. One has a suit and tie." He shouted back up.

"Not right now, I'm not dealing with these people!" he shouted,

"But Dallas…"

"BUCK!"

Dallas slammed the door to the room and slipped his leather jacket on, putting his switchblade and cigarettes into the pockets before opening the door again and going downstairs and being met face to face by the suit-and-tie personnel.

"What?" he said coolly.

"Are you Mr. Dallas Winston?" the man asked, looking him over,

"And what if I'm not?"

"Just answer the question please."

Dallas smirked, no one told Dallas Winston to do.

"Maybe I am, and maybe I'm not, who could know?" Dallas said, walking in a circle around the guy.

"Please just answer the question sir."

"Yea, I am. Who wants to know?"

"Well, Mr. Winston, my name is Roger Bart and I am a social worker..."

"Well whoop dee do for you. What do you want, a medal?"

"Mr. Winston, I'm a social worker and I have someone who I think you should meet." He said, going over to the other room to motion for someone. I shot a warning look to Buck who just shrugged.

"Mr. Winston, I'd like you meet your sister, Cade."

The ground rushed to meet me suddenly.

"Dallas?"

"What the…." He mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Dallas, meet Cade."

"Oh yea, that's why." He growled, sitting up, "Dude, I have no sister, alright?"

"Well, let her see you at least."

Dallas sighed, slapped his forehead, "Fine."

The girl entered in, she couldn't have been over 14, she has gold hair and golden eyes. Yet there was pride, a savage hate that even Dallas could recognize, and he stood up.

"Anyways, why isn't she in New York?"

"Your parents were accused of cild abuse and since you're the only living relative…"

"Whoa no. No no no. You know who you're talking to here right? This is Dallas Winston; I jump little kids, I steal things, I get into fights. I'm not gonna spend my time looking after some useless kid who is gonna end up just like me…"

"Our only other choice is a girl's home, and there are no homes available so we'd have to stick her in juvenile hall."

Dallas suddenly felt something surge through him, he had no idea what it was, but it felt almost like…pity. What was happening?

"Fine. I'll take the kid, but ONLY for six months, then take her away, and put her in some home."


	3. She's Going Straight Back

After the social worker left, Dallas turned to face his sister,

"So, you're Cade?"

She nodded, her golden eyes hard and tough,

"So…uh…let's go meet the gang." He said, walking out the door with Cade right behind him, and quite frankly, it scared Dallas.

Who is she? Well, she's my sister, duh. But why the hell did they send her to ME? Do they check police records? Apparently not. Hell, I can't take care of a cat, let alone a teenage kid.

They reached the vacant lot at around noon, where a group of guys were gathered around a busted up car.

"Hey Dallas! Who's the kid?" one of them called, tossing a beer can aside.

"Two-Bit, this is my sister."

Two-Bit and the other one started cracking up as Ponyboy, the kid from yesterday, looked at Dallas intently.,

"So, how'd she get stuck with YOU? Musta been by force."

"Naw, some guy came, told me to take her, and then left. Kinda weird."

"Guys! Stop talking about her in third person as if she isn't there." Ponyboy said, and Dallas looked straight at him,

"What'd you say punk?"

Ponyboy straightened up,

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Just noticing the color of that rusted car."

Everyone then turned to look at the car, then back at Ponyboy.

"okay, Pony. You're just weird man." Two-Bit laughed, as Pony lit a cigarette, leaning back on the grass..

Cade sat down on the ground, not sure of what she was supposed to do as the guys continued to talk until Dallas, Two-Bit, and the other guy who she learned was named Steve, walked off.

So her and Pony were left alone by the rusted car and Pony finally sat up and decided to start somewhat of a conversation.

"So, um…I don't think we've met. I'm Ponyboy." He said, holding out his hand.

"Cade." She said quietly, shaking his hand.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

Cade looked at him, "I…uh…just turned 13."

"No way! Me too!" Ponyboy exclaimed, "What day?"

"September 28?"

"Me too, how weird is that?" he said, laughing.

Dallas, two-Bit, and Steve meanwhile were over in a corner of the lot, talking.

"So your parents just sent her over here?"

"Yea, weird huh? She's kinda quiet, I haven't been able to get one word outta her."

"Well, apparently that could be just you." Steve noted, pointing over to where Ponyboy and Cade were talking and laughing.

"Well, then are you gonna keep her? I mean, you only got a couple years unitl she takes care of herself."

"Nope. At the end of six months, she's going somewhere else. She ain't gonna stay here, this is my turf."

"No way! I mean, Great Expectations was good and all but it still doesn't beat Moby Dick…"

"Ponyboy, what are you on? Of course it is! Better style of writing more intimate characters, and the fact that one of the characters cant be made into blubber nuggets!" Cade laughed, looking at Ponyboy.

'Boy we have a lot in common, I don't think I've met anyone quite like her' Ponyboy thought.


	4. Cockroaches and Shovels

_(OOC: Sorry this took so long and it's short! Enjoy! Chapter 5 will be out sooner, oh and instead of going to 6 months before, it's going to 2.)_

After a while, Two-Bit and Steve were getting bored of just sitting in the lot, so they all trekked over to Ponyboy's house where they were greeted by a enthusiastic Sodapop,

"Hey guys! What's up? Huh? Huh? Who's she? How'd she…"

"Soda. Chill or be chilled." Dallas said to Soda, moving his arms up and down in a calming motion.

"Soda? Who's that outside?"

"It's Pony….err Two-Bit, Steve, and Dallas. And some other girl, who is she?" Soda asked, looking at Cade.

"That's Dallas' sister!" Two-Bit laughed, pointing at Cade.

"You're kidding."

They all went inside where they were greeted by Mrs. Curtis as she asked Cade to call her,

"So you're Dallas' sister, huh?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Dallas, are you sure you can handle this? It's a huge responsibility."

"I know Mrs. C, I'm trying to work it out."

"You should get her enrolled in school at least, maybe even renting that house two doors down so you'll have a permanent spot to stay. You don't want her taken away..."

"Nope. It'd just be a perk." Dallas said, looking straight at Cade, "Anyway she's only staying with me for six months."+

"Sure Dallas, sure." Mrs. Curtis said, walking into another room.

Cade sat with Ponyboy on the floor playing cards when another greaser entered in. His long black hair fell over his eyes and his big black eyes focused on Cade as he walked in, hands shoved into an obviously worn jeans jacket.

"Who're you?"

"I'm Cade, Dallas' sister. I'm staying with him for a while, who are you?"

The kid looked around nervously before answering, "I'm Johnny."

"Well, hey Johnnycake, you've met my sister, eh?" Dallas said, locking Johnny in a headlock,

"Let go Dallas! Hey!" Johnny said, trying to get away while Dallas messed up his hair,

"Get offa my hair!"

After Dallas let go, two-Bit came in, looked around and held up a comb,

"Johnny, you gotta couple hairs outta place.

Dallas soon took Cade over to the old house two doors down after renting it out for six months,

"Well, here it is."

"It looks like it's been through a couple hurricanes." Cade noted, looking at the worn paint, rusted fence, and the door falling off it's hinges,

"Naw, it'll be fine. Just a new coat of paint….and some bug spray, and we'll be OK." He said, going inside the house. Ponyboy and Johnny came up by the fence,

"hey! New neighbor!" Ponyboy called to Cade, "What'cha doin?"

"Arming myself to go inside the house, wanna join me?"

"Not especially." Ponyboy said, looking at the house,

"I'll go in." Johnny said, walking through the gate and coming up the steps, "All right. Take this shovel and hit anything that moves….except me." Cade warned, opening the door. A huge cockroach came by, and Johnny smacked it with his shovel as Cade ran around the yard like a chicken with its head cut off. Then two more came out, same result.

Soon they got inside and it wasn't as bad as thought. Cade went into the nearest room with Johnny and looked at it. It was medium sized with a window looking out to the street,

"This is my room."

Johnny nodded, "Great, so now if Pony and I get bored, we'll just find cockroach and put them in your window."

"HEY! THAT'S MEAN!"

"And what have we learned?"

"That trusty boys that kill roaches with their magic shovels aren't always trusty?"


	5. What's a Greaser?

_((OOC: Thanks for the reviews! I'm hoping to have Chapter 6 up later tonight, so please, Enjoy!))_

After Johnny went through the house killing cockroaches left and right, they went back to Ponyboy's house while Dallas and Cade….well, mostly Cade, moved the stuff into the house, and as soon as it was done, Dallas grabbed his jacket, "I'm going out!" he called, slamming the door. Cade sighed, it really didn't seem like Dallas wanted her around.

She decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood, to kind of get the feel of things and to see what was in the neighborhood.

It was crisp and cool, as it should be in late October, so cade grabbed her jeans jacket and walked around, passing all these run-down houses and trying to spot something that at least made her feel somewhat secure.

She reached the park and sat down by the fountain, looking at the water rushing around as the fountain run merrily.

"Maybe this place isn't so bad." Cade said aloud, and then grinned. But she became strangely aware that she was being watched, she whipped around and saw a group of Socs standing on the other side of the fountain. Now remember, Cade doesn't know about the whole Soc/Greaser thing, so she didn't understand why they were staring,

"Hey there, you're Dallas Winston's sister, ain't ya? Buck told us all about you." One of them sneered.

"Yea, I'm his sister, what's so bad about that? And who the hell are you?"

"You don't need to know that, greaser."

"Wait? What's a greaser?"

The Socs started to laugh and sneer at Cade as she tried to figure out what was happening,

"Oh come on greaser, stop acting like you don't know."

"Who's acting?" Cade smarted back, realizing that she was about to be jumped.

"You have to learn your place greaser. Get her!"

Cade started to run but couldn't figure out where she was going, her mind raced as she tried to find something familiar to show the way back to the house. But the Socs caught up and tripped her, sending her to the ground. She lay for a second as they surrounded her, kicking her as she tried to get up. One well-rounded kick was sent to her side, and she yelped in pain, rolling over on her side as they continued to kick where her hands were gripping her side. The Socs noticed a car coming and scattered, but left Cade in the street. She managed to pull herself up and stumble towards the lot, thinking of who she could call as blood from her side started to run down through her fingers.

The Socs saw her t the lot and came closer, circling around her, "So Greaser, just about learned your lesson?"

"Not even close." Cade grunted. She never liked to fight, but something inside her was ticking away like a bomb about to explode.

The Socs laughed before Cade leaped up and charged at them, pummeling one of them to the ground. The others started to kick and hit Cade again as she had her arms wrapped around the Soc's throat and refused to let go.

One final kick to her head sent her down and she lay on the ground, covered in blood and panting as one Soc grabbed her hair, "Now be calm, I'm going to take you to my house and we're gonna have some fun…"

Cade realized why they were after her, and she suddenly shouted out, "DALLAS! PONY! JOHNNY! ANYONE!"

The Soc slugged her in the jaw and shut her up, and as soon as she was quiet, the Soc got real close to her face,

"Too bad your brother isn't here to save you."

_((OOOHHHHH...a CLIFFHANGER!))_


	6. Rescued

_((OOC: Wellup, here it is. You've all been asking for it. XD))_

Cade stood petrified as the Soc loomed over her, "Now you worthless piece of…" Cade started to struggle against their hold,

"What do you want from me?" she yelled at the Socs.

The Soc laughed evilly and slugged her again, "Shut up."

Ponyboy and Johnny were playing cards in the living room when Johnny heard some commotion,

"Hey man, what do you think that is?" he asked Pony.

Pony looked towards the door, "I don't know. Let's go check on Cade. She must be lonely." He noted, putting the cards down,

"All right." Johnny said, heading for the door.

"Answer me! What do you want!"

"Shut up greaser! You're in no position to be talking right now." The Soc snarled, slugging her in the jaw as she withered on the ground. Two of the Socs began tying her arms and legs together with rope, and she was in too much pain to do anything but lie there helpless, wishing wildly for someone to help her.

"Cade, where is she?" Pony asked as they searched the house,  
"Where could she go? She doesn't know….'

A sudden thought struck Johnny like a ton of bricks as he raced outside,

"CADE! CADE!"

"Johnny! What do you mean?" Pony said, running after him.

"She musta gone for a walk, and she probably went alone…"

Pony froze in his steps,

"Oh no. Johnny we gotta find her."

Johnny burst into the Curtis house where Darry, Two-Bit, and Soda were watching TV.

"Guys, Dallas' sister went for a walk and she hasn't come back."

I think all at once they heard her shouts,

"DALLAS! PONY! JOHNNY! ANYONE!"

Cade lay sprawled out onto the ground, the street turning red as her blood ran down. The Socs had successfully finished tying her up,

"Well now, what have you got to say for yourself?"

The Socs turned and saw the gang running towards them, and they sprinted off, leaving Cade on the ground,

"This ain't over broad! You'd better watch your back is all I can say!"

Johnny reached and kneeled down, soaking his jeans in her blood.

"Cade, Cade. You there?" he said, tapping her arm lightly.

"Dallas?" a weak voice answered

"No, no it's Johnny. Listen, we gotta get you to a hospital. Can you at least stay conscious?" Johnny said, pushing the bangs off her closed eyes.

"Johnny, what did they wan…." Cade welcomed the warm darkness that entered her mind.

Darry looked as mad as heck, "Why didn't Dallas tell her about walkin by herself? I mean, she doesn't know what to expect here. Where is he anyway?" he said, looking around.

"Worry about that later. Let's get her to the hospital right now."


	7. For Once

_((OOC: I LOVE all the positive reviews! I never expected to get as many as I have! Well, here's the newest chapter. Ciao!))_

Darry carried Cade to the car as Johnny and Sodapop rushed to the doors, sliding in,

"Hey! Where am I gonna sit?" Steve asked. Darry rolled his eyes, placed Cade between Soda and Johnny and shoved Steve into the trunk, "you make one peep. Soda'll throw you out of the car."

"OOOOohhhh…sounds fun! Next time I wanna try it!" Two-Bit said, jumping up and down, raising his hand. Darry rolled his eyes,

"Pony, can you stay here and tell Mom and Dad where we went? And Two-Bit, hunt Dallas down. He must need to know, even if he isn't acting like family."

They sped all the way to the hospital, Steve being knocked around in the trunk as Darry made sudden swerves to get to the hospital. "Come on! Faster, Faster." Johnny muttered.

Two-Bit wandered the alley-ways trying to look for Dallas, and when he saw a puff of smoke, he bolted and ran straight into Dallas.

"Dally, Thank God I've found you! Cade got jumped!"

Dallas face fell into an expression Two-Bit had never seen before…fear.

Dallas took off running in the direction of the hospital, leaving a open-mouthed Two-Bit staring as he ran, "Whoa, weirdness much?"

Sodapop carried Cade into the ER while Darry parked the car, Steve rubbed his head from hitting it on one of the turns,

"She needs help." Soda said, holding her.

"Name?"

:"Sodapop Curtis."

"Her name."

"Oh. Last name Winston…Cade."

"Ok, we'll wheel her off and clean her up," the nurse said, grabbing a stretcher and wheeled Cade into the hospital. Johnny sat down in the waiting room waiting for Pony to come. _Why had they jumped her? They must have come all that way for somethin_. Johnny thought, putting his elbows on his knees and leaning on them. Soda came and sat next to Johnny,

"Wellup, we just gotta stay until Dallas shows." He said, Johnny looked at him,

"I think I'll stay after he shows up."

"OOOOOHHHH…someone's got a crush on Dallas' sister!" Soda said, poking Johnny and laughing.

"Naw man. Why would I like her?" he lied, looking at Soda, trying to convince Soda and himself. _Me and Dallas' sister? How would that work?_ He thought to himself, and looking at his hands.

After an hour, Steve fell asleep on the bench and Soda started to get bored, so he paced around as Darry read a magazine, and they heard footsteps and ignored it. But when Johnny felt a hand on his shoulder, he jumped and whirled around to see an out-of-breath Dallas,

"Where's the little runt? She OK?"

Darry leapt up, "Dallas, what the hell where you THINKING leaving Cade alone on her first night? She got jumped by some Socs and apparently, you forgot to mention that she shouldn't walk alone…especially at NIGHT? She was so damn lucky we got there or they would've killed her or worse." Darry shouted, everyone in the hospital turning to look at them,

Dallas looked at Darry with as much hate as he could gather,

"So where is the kid?"

"'The kid' was taken by nurses, she was bleeding from the head, side and jaw. She lost a ton of blood. Couldn't you care about someone other than yourself for ONCE?"


	8. Matches

_((OOC: Hey all. Chapter 8 is up as well as a new seires! Check it out!))_

Dallas looked at Darry with hateful eyes before storming out. Soda craned his neck to see Dallas kick a random wheelchair before leaving. Steve sighed,

"What do you always gotta do that Darry? At least he came, I didn't expect THAT much."

Darry glared at Steve before leaving to "get some coffee"

About three hours later, Ponyboy and Two-Bit came into the hospital, or at least, Ponyboy did but Two-bit couldn't figure out how to open the handicapped door. Soda sighed and opened the door, letting Two-Bit in.

"Thanks Soda…you'd never believe how hard it is to get these doors opened." Two-Bit said, coming in as the doctor came out,

"Cade Winston."

Everyone jumped up and Darry walked up to him, "Yea?"

"Are you her family?"

Darry nodded, "As close to family as she'll ever get, now is she OK?"

"Cade lost a lot of blood, but luckily, you got her in just in time. She's sleeping right now and we'll be able to let her go in three days if all goes well. She had a slight concussion, but nothing to worry about. Come back tomorrow and you can see her when she's awake." The doctor said, grinning and walking off to treat another patient.

Soda cheered, "YAY!...Wait, what does that mean…exactly?"

"She'll go home in three days." Johnny explained, and Soda once again started cheering,

"Wellup, let's head home. Nothing else needs to be done here." Darry said, as Soda, Steve, Johnny and Pony followed. Two-Bit went to his own car, and Steve was…once again, stuck in the back of the car.

"WHY?" Steve called as they roared out of the hospital, Soda driving,

"SODA! WATCH THAT TREE!"

They reached home in one piece and everyone basically headed home except for Johnny who walked to the lot to find Dallas attempting to build a fire.

"Come on, fucking match, LIGHT!" he said, scraping the match against the rock. Johnny lit a match behind the car and threw it in, causing a fire. Dallas jumped back and looked around as Johnny walked out,

"Hey Johnnycakes, what's going on?" he asked, lighting a cigarette with the match that still wouldn't light.

"Nothing. Cade'll be out in a couple days."

Dallas looked at Johnny, "What makes you think I'm asking about her? Obviosly I don't care about her." He snapped, slamming the match down,

"Goddamn match,"

The next morning, Pony raced ut of bed and shot into the kitchen, bowling over Soda with a piece of toast,

"ANOOO! MY TOAST!" Soda called, reaching for his toast which flew onto the stovetop where it proceeded to burn as badly as the Dixie Chicks, _(XD sorry, had to add that.)_

Mrs. Curtis picked up the now-black piece of toast,

"Soda…do you still want this?"

"Well, OK. I've always like my toast dark-brown…"

She handed him the black toast,

"Or black…."

They reached the hospital at around ten AM with everyone excluding Dallas who went out for job interviews.

"Cade Winston."

"Room 110. One at a time"

They reached room 110 where Cade held a crutch like a sword,

"GET AWAY FROM ME WITH THAT THING!" she shouted as the nurse held a needle full of some strange liquid.

The nurse sighed as Ponyboy came in, "Help. She's been fending me off for a good forty minutes."

"AND I'LL FEND OFF LONGER UNLESS YOU PUT THE NEEDLE DOWN."


	9. So I Says

_((OOC: Isn't this ironic? After my character goes to the ER, I go to the ER. Lol, so yea, that's why I haven't been updating.))_

After the nurse left because it was quite obvious that Cade was not going to let her anywhere near her with the needle, Ponyboy sat down by her bed,

"So, you OK?" Pony asked, looking at her.

She cocked an eyebrow at him, "Yea, what makes ya think I wouldn't be? Them Socs have got to do a lot more to kill me." She laughed.

"Well, Dallas was pretty worried…"

"NO, you're kidding right?"

"No. I ain't, he'd visit you but he went out to look for a job today, so you're stuck with me…and Soda….and Darry…and Two-Bit."

Cade rolled her eyes as soda popped his head in,

"Ha! Cade looks funny!" he laughed, and Cade couldn't help but grin. Even thought she's only known him a day, it felt like forever ago that she met them.

"Your face'll look funny." She growled, glaring at Soda. As he came in with the others,

"You take way too long so we're breaking the rules." He said, sitting down. On a rolling chair, twirling around in it,

"Is he always like this?"

Darry looked at Soda, thinking hard before nodding,

"Yea."

Dallas walked around downtown, clutching the newspaper, finding it damn near impossible to get a job, everyone had turned him down because of his police records. He sighed and went into his last job offer of the day, at a movie theater.

"Hello, I'm here to apply for a job." He said to the woman at the window,

"All righty then. Come around back and the boss'll interview you." they walked around back towards a small dark office.

"Okay, he's in there. He'll see you now."

Dallas walked into the office where a man was sitting organizing papers on the messy desk,

"Yes?"

"Um, I saw your job ad in the paper and I want to apply ofr a job.."

"I'm sorry, but we already filled the position, maybe next…"

"No, sir, please, you don't understand. I gotta take care of my sister who's in the hospital and to do that, I need a job, only for six months until she leaves." He said, getting desperate.

The man put the papers down and stared at him, looking for any signs of deception in his face,

"Fine, you start tomorrow. Now go visit your sister."

"So then I says to the guy, I says…"

"Can we get to the point before I die of boredom?" Darry said as Two-Bit was relaying an incredibly long story.

"Well, fine! So I says to this guy…..um….well thanks a lot Darry. I forgot,"

Everyone started laughing as Two-Bit struggled to remember the words. Just then the door opened and Dallas came in, and everyone else cleared out silently, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey there Dallas." Cade said.

"Hey."

Dallas fingered his leather jacket during the akward silence,

"So, why didn't you fight back?"

"huh?"

"when they were beatin' on you, you didn't fight back. You usually do."

"Because I didn't think they'd beat me as bad as they did, why are you asking me this? You sure as hell didn't let me know about this. And what is a greaser anyway?" she said.

Dallas looked at her,

"now listen kid, next time use your head, you don't walking around at night…"

"Oh. So now you care?" Cade shouted back.

Dally's eyes narrowed at his sister, trying to cool his rage.


	10. Mickey Mouse

Cade glared at Dallas,

"go ahead. Hit me, you know you want to." She said to him, narrowing her eyes at him.

Dallas tensed up, his hands curling into fists as Cade…this kid….talked back to him. No one EVER did that. He raised his fist and socked her in the arm before racing out of the room, slamming the door and slamming himself against the wall.

He closed his eyes and saw her face as she yelled at him, and he slowly realized for the first time….his anger and lonliness were matched. Besides, it was stupid of him to leave her alone the first night. She was angry and he shouldn't have hit her.

He sighed, overwhelm with emotion, then slowly it dimmed as he opened the door to see Cade. She didn't look mad or angry.

"Sorry." He mumbled, pulling a chair over, sitting down.

"It's fine man. It was kinda my fault. Shouldn't have ripped on you like that." She said, leaning back.

"So, you're OK now?" Dallas asked. She nodded,

"Yea, I'm fine."

An akward silence filled the room as Dallas looked at her,

"Look, uh, I'm really new at this being-a-brother thing, so…"

"It's cool man."

Dallas grinned for the first time all day.

Three days later, Cade was given the OK to go home, and as soon as she got there, she looked around at the cupboards and fridge, and there was no food.

"Dallas?"

No answer.

"Dallas?"

Still no answer.

Cade looked around the house and without finding Dallas, she wandered into her own room, noticing a piece of paper on her bed.

_Cade,_

_Went out for the night. Don't walk at night by yourself. Try to get the Curtis' and I'll meet you there tomorrow. Had to put in some extra work to go shopping._

_Oh, and by the way, you start school Monday._

_Dallas_

Cade put the note down and looked at the clock, it was about 2 in the afternoon, she'd better head over to Pony's, happy that it was Saturday and everyone would be there.

She knocked on the door and was answered by Soda,

"Heya there Cade. You're just in time for Mickey Mouse!" Two-Bit called.

Soda laughed and let her in, where Pony and Johnny were playing cards with Darry and Two-Bit and Steve was staring intently at the TV screen,

"What? Do you think if you stare at the screen enough, ther chracters will just pop out?" Cade said, pointing to Two-Bit. Pony shrugged it off,

"That's normal Two-Bit. Come and play cards with us." He said, scooting over to make room for the newest player.

"GO FISH!"

"That's great Soda….except we're playing Blackjack."

"Oh." Was all Soda could say before Johnny looked outside. It was getting dark out,

"Well, I'm gonna head home."

"no Johnny. Stay here." Pony said as Johnny stood up,

"no, It's all right man. See you all tomorrow."

_((OOC: Couldn't think of a good way to end chapter. Not a cliffhanger or anything.))_


	11. School

Monday. The first day of school.

Cade anxiously pulled on a sweatshirt hoodie over a T-shirt with her worn jeans and canvas Converse, attempting to get her blonde hair in order before Pony knocked on the door, "Cade? Come on!" he called, knocking on the door,

"All right Pony. Cool it." She said, running outside, grabbing her navy blue backpack and joining Johnny and Pony over by the Curtis house.

"Where's Dallas?"

"Out….again." Cade said as they walked to school. Ponyboy and Cade were in 8th grade while Johnny was a freshmen. Johnny shook his head and they continued on to school.

Cade walked into the office to the extremely scary secretary, who was typing something.

"Um, yes, hello?"

No answer.

"Hello? HELLO!"

"NO SHOUTING!" The principal yelled at Cade, slamming his office door.

Still no answer.

"Hello? Speak? Move….do something."

The secretary finally looked up,

"Whoa! What, did Halloween come early or do you just like that mask?" Cade said to her, silently laughing at the woman.

"What can I do you for?" she droned, scratching her mole.

"Yes, uh, I'm new here and I need my schedule."

"Ok." The secretary said and continued typing.

Cade waited there for about ten minutes before she got bored,

"I think a glacier just passed us…." She noted, playing with some crystal thingy on top of the desk.

"Don't touch anything."

Cade stopped and tapped her fingers on the wood as the homeroom bell rang right after 1st period.

"Uh, let me rephrase this. I'd like my schedule BEFORE the school year ends."

She hurried down the hallway in the middle of 3rd period after a very long lecture about being rude and she hurried to her locker, turning it and turning it,

"Damn this locker! OPEN!"

It flew open and she fell back, all her papers flying everywhere.

"Need help?"

She turned around to see a guy with somewhat curly black hair and tan skin holding out his hand,

"Yea. Thanks. I'm new by the way, Cade."

"Danny. Nice to meet ya." He said, grinning

Cade and Danny walked to Cade's 3rd period Biology class over in the Science wing,

"So, nice to meet you Danny."

"You too, Cade, I have a feeling we will be seeing each other again today." He added before walking off grinning. I opened the door to my Biology class and went in.

"So, was it seriously as bad as you thought it was gonna be?" Pony asked as we walked home after school.

"Nah, at least you're in most of my classes and I hope I NEVER have to see that secretary again." She said, laughing slightly as they reached Pony's house,

"See you later, then." Pony said, grinning.

Cade looked at him and waved, walking towards the house. Pony looked down at his books and grinned, before looking out to see Cade walk away before going inside,

"Hey Darry." He said as soon as he entered the house and he saw another face he hadn't seen in a while,

"Casey?"


	12. Brotherly Love

_((OOC: I want to take thise time to thank all those who reviewed! except PW...lol. I didn't expect to get as many as I did! Next chapter, I will mention you all and...yea...cheers!))_

"Casey? What are you doing here?" Ponyboy asked, Casey was Sodapop's twin and had left home about six months ago to pursue a rodeo career. She was Johnny's best friend, and closer to him than anyone ever was. Ponyboy was so shocked to see her, and then he noticed that everyone around him was crying, especially Sodapop.

"What happened?" he asked, getting confused.

"Ponyboy…when Mom and Dad went to the country today….now I don't know everything but they got hit by a train." Darry said. Sodapop cried out and buried his face into Casey's arms,

"Shhhh….Sodapop. It's OK buddy."

Ponyboy felt as thought a train had hit HIM. He stood there, feet nailed to the ground, thinking of what to do. Then he figured out something. Run.

He raced outside and ran to Dallas and Cade's house, knocking on the door. Cade answered,

"Hey there Pony…."

"They're dead!" Pony cried, finally breaking down.

"Ponyboy, what's wrong? Pony?" she asked, pulling him inside and towards the couch.

"Mom….Dad….train…."

"Oh Ponyboy." She said, hugging him, trying to calm the frantic Ponyboy, "You're gonna be OK, you're gonna be fine."

After a couple hours, Dallas came home from work, tossing aside his uniform, "Heya there Cade….what's wrong with Pony?" he asked, seeing Pony's tear-stained face. Cade motioned for Dallas to go into the other room and Cade got up, going into the room,

"Pony's parents were in a train wreck."

Dallas went silent, looked at the door, then back at Cade,

"What, you're not serious?"

Cade looked at him, then went back out to see Pony sitting there with Johnny, who must have come in.

"Hey there Johnny. So I guess you heard?"

Johnny looked at her and she understood.

"Johnny…Cas…Casey's home."

Johnny's face lit up a little bit but he just nodded,

"OK."

"Don't you wanna see her?" Pony gasped, starting to sob again.

"No, I'm with you right now. I'll see her later." He said, trying to calm the younger boy.

Eventually they all piled on the couch because it was obvious Pony didn't want to go home. Dallas even joined them in an armchair across the room, not really joining in their mourning, but just being there. And that was all Cade could ask for,

Dallas heard the door knock so he got up and went to answer, and came face-to-face with Soda's tear-stained face,

"Sodapop...oh Ponyboy, you want him don't you?"

"If he wants to come home, Casey might like to see him." he said, managing a slight grin,

"Oh, Casey's back, eh?" he said, laughing.

"Yea, Ponyboy!" he said, seeing him over by the couch.

Ponyboy looked at Sodapop, then back to Dallas and got up, walking towards Soda,

"Let's go." The younger boy's voice cracked with grief.

Johnny and Cade were getting tired, becausethey were getting tired. After about fifteen minutes of fighting over the couch space, they fell asleep on the couch except for Dallas, who was watching his sister sleeping with her head right by Johnny's, his hand on her back. Dallas grinned at the sight, but then his mind wandered to thinking about how Pony and Cade were a lot alike,

both didn't have parents,

both loved to read,

But the biggest similarity Dallas saw was:

They were now both being raised by their brothers.


	13. Johnny's Nerves

_((OOC: Hey all. Sorry, I've been on vacation. Update later today.))_

The funeral was miserable, Ponyboy, Casey and Sodapop could not stop sobbing as it progressed on. And through the whole funeral was that undying feeling that Ponyboy, Casey, and Sodapop wouldn't be with them much longer, and as the days following the funeral dragged on, everyone tried to help make the Curtis brother's last days memorable….

The day of the start of Thanksgiving break, Cade was at her locker, ready to meet Ponyboy at the flagpole where they'd meet up with Casey, Johnny, Sodapop, and Steve to walk home and celebrate Thanksgiving break being here. She heard a strange thumping noise on her locker. She looked to see Danny,  
"heya there." He said, grinning down at her,

"Hey Danny. Whassup?" she said, trying to look ghetto and laughing because she couldn't.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Walkin home."

"Cool. Hey, do you mind if I come along? My folks can't pick me up so I'll be here until about nine."

Cade shrugged, she saw nothing wrong with that,

"OK. Let's go." She said, shutting the locker and walking with him outside.

Ponyboy waited at the flagpole with his backpack thrown against the metal bar while waiting for Cade. 'What IS it with girls and taking forever?' he thought to himself. Then he saw Cade come out with Danny, a guy he didn't know too well.

"Hi there Ponyboy. Danny's gonna come with us, is that OK?"

Ponyboy took one look into Cade's dancing gold eyes,

"Yea, now let's go."

After they walked to the high school, they saw Casey and Johnny deep in conversation over by the entrance. "HEY! IDIOTS ONE AND TWO!" Ponyboy called over to them. They shot up and raced over, Casey whacking Cade with her bag,

"OW! Rude much?" Cade laughed at Casey. Casey grinned,

"My bad senor."

"-ita."

"What?"

"No wonder you flunked Spanish." Johnny noted, grabbing his backpack. Sodapop and Steve came up to them,

"hey y'all. Who's he?" Steve asked, jerking a thumb in Danny's direction,

"That's Danny. He's a-walking home with us." Cade explained. Steve shrugged but as they walked on, Johnny became more and more unsure of this 'Danny'

They reached the neighborhood and Cade immediately went inside the house with Casey,

Johnny couldn't explain why, but something defiantly did not feel right, so he went inside to talk to Cade, who was playing cards when Danny came inside and sat down. Johnny tapped Cade lightly,

"can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure Johnny, what's up?" she said, getting up and going into the Curtis' kitchen

"Listen, about this Danny thing…I don't know….something just doesn't feel right about that guy." Johnny said, rubbing the back of his head,

Cade laughed, "Johnny, Danny is nothing to worry about. He's just a friend. He wouldn't hurt me any more than you would."

"Cade…can you just hear me out on this one?"

Cade started getting angry, "Listen, Danny's my friend and if you don't like him…well then that's too damn bad for you, OK? " she said, running out through the back door,

Johnny stood in the kitchen alone,

"Right,"

Danny came into the kitchen and snickered,

"She'll never believe a greaser like you, so why don't you stop trying?" he sneered.

Johnny looked at him, "Dude, whatever you're planning with Cade, you'd better stop it right now." He said, raising his voice slightly.

And Danny laughed.


	14. Thanksgiving

_((OOC: I said I'd thank my reviewers, thank you all! But I would also like to give special shout-outs to monkeypants17, applejax815, xocrazilikeloxo, and Duraine For Life. Thank you guys and I'll keep posting chapters! Now, on with the show!))_

Thanksgiving Day. It had been four days since Johnny and Cade fought and they were not speaking to one another.

"CADDDDEEEE…is this gravy supposed to be on fire?"

"WHAT?" Cade shouted, running over to Casey who was standing by the stove with the flaming gravy, Cade grabbed the ever-faithful-randomness-fire-thingy _(AN: What's the thing that puts out fire? Sorry, I'm having a complete blonde moment.) _And put the fire out, looking at the now-black gravy,

"Hey Darry, I hope you like well-done gravy.."

Darry poked his head in, "Do I want to…"

"No, not really. No"

Everyone started coming at round 4 for dinner, the first being Soda and Steve who sat down at the table slamming their forks down,

"FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!"

Cade was busy with Pony and Darry cooking the turkey and trying to keep Two-Bit and Steve from eating everything in sight,

"Hey guys…you ARE aware we have to COOK the food?" Cade asked,

Steve and Two-Bit looked at each other, an idea dawning on them, before looking at Cade,

"OOOOOHHHhhhhhh…"

Finally the food was done cooking and everyone was at the table. Cade sat between Sodapop and Johnny, which was extremely awkward for Cade. It wasn't that she liked fighting with Johnny…

"Now, BEFORE we eat, let's all say something we're thankful for." Darry said, glaring at Sodapop who was laughing,

"Oh, you're serious?"

"Why don't you start?" Darry asked Soda, and Soda looked around,

"Um….I'm thankful for...Casey!" he said, sending an air hug to Casey who was on the other side of the table,

They went around the table telling each other what they're thankful for until they got to Dallas.

"Dallas?"

Dallas stared at Darry before looking around the table and looking around nervously

"I'm thankful for having my sister here." He said quickly, looking down.

Next was Johnny,

"I'm thankful for…um…the Curtis family, of course, and um…I'm just thankful I guess, to be here with everyone. You are the best friends a guy could ever have."

"AWWWWWWW"

"Gee Johnnycakes; what corny movie did you get that out of?"

"Shut up Two-Bit! It was sweet." Casey pointed out.

Last of all was Cade, and she had no clue what to say at all, so she looked around at them, her words frozen,

"Well, Cade?"

She looked at Dallas and finally realized she had something to say,

"What am I thankful for? I'm thankful for my health, for my fortune, and for the gang…but most of all, I'm thankful for my big brother, if he hadn't taken me in, who knows where I'd be right now. Thank you Dally…now LET'S EAT!!!"

Dallas looked at Cade and cracked a rare grin before looking down at his plate while Soda yipped and immediately started shoveling food into his mouth, while Cade and Casey held up napkins in a unsuccessful attempt to block the flying food,

"MANNERS SODA!"

Soda poked his head up,

"hmmmph?"


	15. Keys and Snow

_((OOC: Thank you applejax815! A fire extinguisher! But anywhosa, I don't know if it snows in Tulsa or how cold it gets, so if you know it snows, let me know! Many Thanks! And um…here's the latest! Sorry it's been so long. SEVERE writer's block, man))_

November chills quickly left to be replaced by an even colder December air. Johnny and Cade still weren't speaking to each other, Dallas spent less and less time at home, and of course Casey was busy getting on everyone's nerves about Christmas.

One Friday after school, Cade went to her locker to find Danny waiting there for her. It had become a ritual, Danny waited for Cade by her locker and they walked out of school together, just talking and stuff, as they reached outside,

"GOD, it's FREEZING!" Cade yelped, jamming her hands into her pockets as Ponyboy approached,

"Ha-ha. Ready for winter?" he asked as they started walking home,

"Die."

Ponyboy looked at the frozen Cade shocked,

"Did you just tell me to die?"

"Die twice." She muttered, hiding her face in her coat.

Ponyboy laughed as they approached the high school where Pony saw Johnny and Casey waiting by the entrance and waved them over,

"Where's Steve and Soda?" No doubt Two-Bit would be with a girl…

"They went to go hang out with Evie and Sandy before the game." Casey reported, poking the top of Cade's head,

"Is she alive? Or just headless?"

"Alive and headful…I think?" Ponyboy said, questioning whether 'headful' was a word. "Wellup, let's go home!" Casey said, poking Cade's head,

"Stop Casey."

"Whhhhhhyyyy?" she dragged, poking Cade again.

"If you want to keep that hand, I SUGGEST you stop."

"OK."

The rest of the walk home was relatively uneventful, as far as the walks go, so Cade eventually returned to her house and dug around her coat for her key,

"holy poo on toast!" she muttered, looking for her key, she searched through her coat, her bag, everything…but she could not find the damn key.

"SON OF A…."

She saw Darry stick his head out the window and stare. It wasn't a normal stare neither…a really deep do-you-want-to-say-that stare.

"…BEESNAPPER!" (AN: Thought of that randomly. Sorry)

Darry nodded slightly before turning and talking to someone, motioning to Cade. She heard laughing and the door slam, She saw Ponyboy coming down the street,

"Need help?" he laughed,

"NO I'M PERRRRFECTLY FINE THANK YOU!" she shouted. Pony walked up to her, leaned against the door and stood there, and after about five more minutes of searching, she looked at him,

"Can I help you?"

Pony grinned, looking at her, and just being an annoyance, "Nah."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"This is fun to watch." He noted.

"Thank you Captain Obvious. You can leave, show's over."

"Do you want me to help you?" he said, trying to hold in whatever laughter he hadn't already done,

"And pray tell, what on rearth could YOU do?"

Pony held up a key and opened the door,

"You dropped it outside the school. Don't ya LOVE the irony of this?"

Cade looked and him and grabbed the key,

"You are so annoying."

"And glad to be a part of it." He said, grinning.

_((OOC: I'm still back into the 'swing of things' as they say. So expect some more))_


	16. Making Up

_(Oh. My. Gosh. sorry I left you hanging so long. Writer's block can be a bitch.The people who reviewed it during the summer...I love you. That inspired me to write again, knowing that people were still reading it despite it being...'inactive' for the time. So this is for you guys, a little nonsense chapter that CLEARLY was not needed, but fun to write. )_

The next morning was awfully cold…and annoying, as it was Friday, the slowest possible school day, except maybe Monday.

BEEP BEEP

"GOD DAMN, what is THAT?" Dallas mumbled loudly, covering his head with a pillow. His hair was tossed with sleep and his eyes droopy, but hey. It was Friday. He had Saturdays and Sundays off from work, so he could spend time with the gang. Always fun.

Down the hall, Cade was already semi-awake and after showering, she changed into a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, throwing a navy-blue hoodie on before stumbling into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. She saw eggs and grabbed two, deciding to be nice and make Dallas breakfast as well. Lord knows how long that boy has lived on cold cereal and microwavable things.

Cracking the egg on the stove, the door opened and Ponyboy walked in, followed by Johnny.

"Cade cooking? RUN FOR THE HILLS!!" Pony asked, sitting at the table and tossing his backpack down. Johnny just stood at the doorway, looking a little tired. Cade cracked an egg over Ponyboy's head sleepily and began hitting him with a wooden sppon,

"CADE!"

"Oh. Sorry." She mumbled, acting sleepy until Ponyboy had walked off and Cade laughed,

"Idiot."

Ponyboy came back as Cade was making scrambled eggs and toast and Johnny had not moved from the doorway. Ponyboy eyed him,

"You know you can come in. No one's going to do anything…at least I won't." he said, looking at Cade who gave him a playful grin,

"Bitch."

"Jerk." Cade shot back.

"Guys…is the toaster supposed to have smoke coming out of it?" Johnny asked.

"No…why?" Cade asked, turning to Johnny. He merely pointed and the toaster was billowing smoke out like no tomorrow,

"SON OF A…"

"HERE! USE A FORK!" Ponyboy said. Cade just looked at him,

"You are…the BIGGEST idiot I know." She said, pulling the plug and getting a lisght shock,

"OW! IT SHOCKED ME!"

"And…what do you want me to do about it?" Pony asked.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

Cade pulled the first toast out of the toaster and looked at it. It was pitch black, with absolutely nothing other than black. Not even the center was brown. Cade threw it in the trash and pulled out the other toast, which had a small flame,

"Wow…hehe. Pony, Johnny, look. The toast is on fire." She said laughing slightly. Pony backed away and Johnny raised his eyebrow, walked over, took the toast, stomped on it, putting the fire out and handing it back to Cade. She eyed him evily,

"Jerk."

"Bitch." He shot back, a small grin on his face.

Cade smiled at Johnny, they were friends again….

"WHY DOES THE KITCHEN SMELL LIKE SMOKE?!" Dallas roared. Cade, Pony, and Johnny looked at each other before bursting out laughing.


	17. I'M THE REINDEER!

_(Wow. Today alone I have written 3 or 4 updates to my stories and 2 chapters of a new one. I'm so proud right now. I'm never done more than 1 a day. So enjoy!)_

Christmas Time. A hectice time for anyone and everyone. So after successfully burning toast and getting to school late AND flunking a French test, Cade was happy for the weekend.

"Thank God! What will we do tonight?" she asked Pony as they walked home, Pony shrugged,

"Dunno. Something, dare I say, normal?"

Cade and Casey just looked at him strangely.

"You're right. Normal is too much for us." Johnny said, laughing slightly.

Cade lightly hit Johnny,

"You're a meanie."

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

Soda and Casey both looked confused, Pony just held up his hand.

"I suggest you stay FAR out of this one." He noted. Casey all of a sudden got an idea,

"LET'S GO CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!" she said. Everyone turned to look at her. She stopped jumping,

"What?"

Cade walked in the door to find Dallas sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading. Wait…Dallas was…READING? Two things that should never be combined. Cade poked him,

"Poke…poke….poke…"

"Whaddya want?" he asked, irritated.

"What'cha reading?" she asked. He cocked an eyebrow at her,

"Why do you…never mind. Newspaper. Tim got a paragraph and I was just reading."

"I swear to God with you boys it's all 'violence this' 'violence that' can we read about peace for a change?"

Dallas just stared at her,

"Well, I'm going out tonight. Don't expect me home." He spat. Even though he was getting used to Cade, having her around bugged him. He had never been around someone besides the gang for this long….and it scared him.

Cade shrugged,

"Fine. I'm going shopping with Casey and Johnny."

"Johnny…shopping?" Dallas almost fell out of his chair.

"haha. He's coming Christmas shopping with us."

"Ohh..Christmas shopping." He said, grabbing his leather jacket and walking out, not even bothering with a goodbye. Cade shrugged again and went to her room, shutting the door and falling on her bed, going to sleep.

"Cade? Cade?" a voice asked, poking her. Cade swatted the hand away,

"Five more minutes Dal…" she mumbled. But the hand came back, she turned to yell at the person at fault and Johnny stood there, hands shoved into his pockets,

"We gotta go." He said quietly, "Sorry I woke you."

Cade yanwed,

"I'll get you back later." She mumbled, walking out the door.

At the mall, Casey was as excited as a Golden Retriver puppy and of course, Casey's energy is contagious, so Cade was laughing and goofing off with her. They went into a department store and Cade grabbed a cart, standing on the bar and using her foot to push it down the aisles. Casey found a reindeer that sang 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer' and put it in her cart before hopping on her own, and they both took off, Cade shouted wildly,

"I'M THE REINDEER! I'M THE REINDEER!"

Johnny stood there, his face in his hand, rubbing his forehead,

"This CANNOT end well."

"You guys are such idiots." Johnny mumbled, walking in the snow with Cade and Casey laughing their heads off.

"I can't believe you RAN INTO the manager with the cart!" Casey said, doubling over in laughter. Cade smiled and took a bow, falling over from being high on life. Johnny just turned,

"You know we can never go back there, right?"

"Aw, give it a week Johnnycake. We'll be back." Casey said, standing up.

"Well…we didn't get any gifts." Cade said, shrugging.

"We still got three weeks." Johnny noted. Cade shrugged,

"Yea…but…LOOK A SQURRIEL!"

Cade walked into the house, falling on the couch. It was now midnight and after a crazy Dingo run, Cade was ready to sleep her life away. She dozed off, curling up on the couch for warmth. But it was still too cold…part of her told her to get up and go get a blanket, but she was too lazy.

Dallas walked in around 3 AM. Normally he would have stayed out all night, but God knows what happened to Cade when he was gone. He saw asleep on the couch and stopped, looking at her. She looked cold, he noticed. She was probably too lazy to get up and get a blanket. Stupid kid. He thought, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over her, covering her. She immediately stopped shivering and lay still, her steady breaths moving the blanket up and down. Dallas shook his head before walking to his own room. He was softening up to her…he knew that, but what of his rep?


End file.
